


The Rest of Our Lives

by yellowcurtqins



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cyrus is oblivious, First Kisses, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Love Confessions, M/M, Misunderstandings, aged up to college, buffy knows what tj stands for bc shes a future kippen, let tj say fuck, muffy shares an apartment, reed is good in this one, tarty cousins, tj basically lives in muffy's apt during the angst, tj is in LOVE, tyrus shares an apartment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-09-24 09:16:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20356075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yellowcurtqins/pseuds/yellowcurtqins
Summary: "Go get him."Easier said than done.





	The Rest of Our Lives

**Author's Note:**

> I HOPE THIS IS OKAY

“I wanna spend the rest of my life with him.”

Buffy looks up from her just-finished studies, eyes wide. She clears her throat, preparing for a long conversation as the sound echoes through her apartment.

“TJ, what?” He grins at her.

“Cyrus. I wanna spend the rest of my life with him.” TJ looks at her, watches as the corners of her mouth turn up softly.

“When did you figure that out?” she asks, giving him a moment to work up the courage to respond. She smiles at him gently, trying to tell him that there’s no rush for him to speak. 

“Well, yesterday, we were at our apartment, and he did this weird thing. I mean, not weird, he does it all the time, but this time in particular, it felt different and I guess I had never thought of any of it before, I just—”

Buffy grabs his hand, interrupting his rambling. “Thel, you’re rambling. Breathe.” 

“Sorry, I’ve just never confessed my love for anyone’s best friend before. You know?” She chuckles lightly, nodding at the obviously nervous guy. 

“Yeah, Thel, I get it. When you’re ready.”

“Okay, yeah, thank you.” He inhales, exhales, inhales again, listening as his breathing gets slower and slower. He lets out one final exhale, and then continues his confession.

“I finished my assignments early last night, so I was on the couch watching New Girl in my sweats when he got home from work. He ran to go put his pajamas on, and then he came back downstairs to watch with me. We usually cuddle—platonically, mind you—and it’s never had the effect it had on me last night.” He takes another deep breath, his shoulders relaxing when Buffy squeezes his hand.

“So, he gets downstairs, right? And he gives me this lopsided smile, and my heart skips a beatt. I’m like, 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘥. 𝘉𝘶𝘵, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦. 𝘌𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳; 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦. Anyway, he runs over and basically jumps on me, like, he full on 𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘴 me in this hug, and my heart is beating so fast that I can feel my 𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘴 shaking. I’m all, 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦.” TJ looks to his close friend, watching to make sure she’s following along. She nods at him, and he continues his story.

“So, then, he goes, ‘I missed you, Theo,’ and I fucking explode. Like, my mind just stops functioning, and I’m thinking, 𝘯𝘰𝘱𝘦. 𝘕𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘯𝘰. 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. So I’m all like, ‘I missed you too, Muffin.’ And, you know what this bitch does? He fuckin’ blushes. This is the point where I’m like, 𝘸𝘰𝘸, 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺, 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯? But, of-fucking-course, I shove all my emotions in my no-no box in my head, and leave them for dead. Until we get to the cuddling part.

“This boy’s got his head on my chest, like, right-the-fuck next to my damn heart, and I’m combusting. My brain is literally yelling, like, 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵, 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶. And that’s the point where I just freeze, and I’m all, 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬, 𝘰𝘩 𝘯𝘰.” He’s laughing as he tells the story, the frantic movement of his free hand and the emotions displayed on his face reminding Buffy of Cyrus. She nods, smiling brightly at him as he speaks. 

“And then, you know what happens?” Buffy tilts her head questioningly, as if to say, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵? 𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦. “He tangles our legs together, and he grabs my hand. Again, his ear is literally right above my heart, and he’s playing with my fingers. I turn to the TV, and Jess is singing one of her ridiculous songs, and you can just see the love in Nick’s eyes as he watches, you know? 

"That’s when I realize, that’s how I look at Cyrus. That’s how I’ve been looking at him for nine years, and I never thought about it. So, I glance at Cyrus, and suddenly, I’m like, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵. 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘺 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. I go to deny it, but all of my thoughts are, 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮. That’s how I figured it out.” TJ lets his eyes find their way up to his friend of eight years, grinning as he catches her wiping away a tear. 

“Whoa, I made the 𝘚𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 cry?” he teases, laughing when her eyes are set ablaze with playful anger.

“Thelonious Jagger, I swear to God—” Her enemy-turned-best-friend interrupts her, placing a hand over her mouth.

“𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 call me that. Just because you’re gonna be a Kippen, doesn’t mean you get to use that all the time.” he warns jokingly, hissing when she lets her tongue slip through her lips and hit his palm. “Driscoll!” he yelps, glaring at the basketball player. They walk around the table, sizing each other up as the inches between them vanish. When TJ reaches his friend, she ambushes him in a hug, her arms snaking around his waist and squeezing him tight. As he wraps his long arms around her shoulders, she holds him gradually tighter. He wheezes. 

“Buffy… Jesus Christ, stop trying to kill me,” she lets him go, grasping his hand as he does the same. She stares him straight in the eye, letting go of his fingers to grab his head in her hands. The brown-eyed woman moves her hands down slightly, cupping his face. 

“I’m glad you and Cyrus found each other. You guys are gonna be beautiful. Go for it, dude.” The blonde nods tearfully, the grin on his face making way to a watery, relieved laugh. “Oh, and, Thel?”

TJ looks to her, smiling as her thumb wipes a tear away from his cheek. “Yeah, Slayer?” 

“Always remember one thing, okay?”

“And, what’s that?” She smirks at him, glad that the tears in his eyes make it harder to see the mischievous glint in her own. The girl inhales dramatically.

“I introduced you dumbasses.” Buffy laughs at the groan that escapes her friend’s lips, moving her hands so they rest on his shoulders. The taller basketball player wipes the wetness from his eyes, looking up at the ceiling as the softness in his eyes is replaced with playful annoyance. 

“Good God, Driscoll. We can’t have one beautiful moment?” She knows him well enough to see the giddiness behind his glare, to hear the chuckle bubbling up within the malice of his voice, to recognize the grin trying to break through his frown. 

“Personally, I think that it’s beautiful that I introduced the two idiots that make up the most annoying will-they-won’t-they situation to grace our world 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳.” He laughs, and then they’re silent, simply taking in the comfort of their friendship. They look at each other, both chuckling at the fact that, if this were one of those cliché straight romantic comedies, they would’ve kissed in this moment. 

Instead, Buffy grabs her best friend’s hand, leading him back to the table. She squeezes it reassuringly, returning to the conversation. “So, are you gonna tell him that you 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮?” she asks, dragging out the last few words. The green-eyed man stares down at the table, giddy laughter trying to pry itself away from his lips. 

“I dunno,” he admits, and Buffy’s heart chips away a little bit at the fear sneaking into his usually firm voice. “He’s the best part of my day, the one thing I look forward to coming home to, the person whose jokes I remember and have to stifle my laughter at in the middle of my college lectures.” He glances across the table at his friend. “What if I lose that?” 

The girl’s eyes become glassy, and she reaches for his free hand so that both of them are in hers. Her lips curve up gently, her smile just barely there. She searches his eyes, uncovering all the fear, all the doubt in his eyes. “Hey,” she says quietly, prompting him to look at her. “You will 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 lose Cyrus. Ever. That boy cares about you so much it’s insane. He would literally never walk away from you.”

The corners of his lips twitch almost invisibly. If Buffy wasn’t studying his face at the moment, she would’ve missed it. “You really think so?” he inquires, voice small and hopeful. She reaches up to lift his chin slightly. 

“I do.” The brunette smiles wider at him. “You deserve a great love story, Thel.” He smiles up at her, dusty red sneaking up his neck and onto his cheeks. As her eyes dare him to 𝘨𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮, he takes a moment to appreciate their own relationship. And, as she nearly kicks him out of her apartment, he realizes that he loves having her in his life.

And, yeah, he’s glad this isn’t a cliché straight rom-com. 

&&&&&

TJ runs out of his friend’s apartment building, runs down the street, runs through the night air past all the buildings that decorate the route that he knows by heart. He passes the post office, the cafe, the cvs, his apartment. 𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵. He steps back, laughing at the fact that he 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨. Love makes you crazy, right? 

The athlete runs to the elevator, deciding to take the stairs at the realization that there are way too many people waiting for that thing. He bounds up each step, his calves starting to burn as the climb continues. He stops at the fourth floor, his hand reaching for the wall so he can take a breath. 

His phone pings, and he smiles, knowing that it’s probably a text of encouragement from Buffy. The college student catches his breath, opening the door and leaving the staircase. He approaches his home, fiddling with his keys as he silently rehearses different dramatic one-liners. 

𝘐’𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶.

𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦.

𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦.

When he finally figures out the perfect one, he plays with the lock of his apartment. He hears a click, turning the knob and opening the door.

𝘖𝘩. 

Cyrus pushes someone off of him, reaching frantically for his shirt. The stranger pulls on his own t-shirt, standing up and straightening his stance. His lips are swollen, his hair disheveled as he bites his lip nervously. Cyrus stands up, no longer topless, and clears his throat anxiously. 

“Theo,” he squeaks, his face shining bright red even in the dim light of the apartment. “You’re… back.” TJ sports his own furious blush, waiting for an introduction. The brunette turns to his hookup. “This is my best friend, TJ. TJ, this is—”

“Leo,” the guy interjects, walking over and offering his hand. TJ doesn’t shake it. Leo pulls back, wiping his palm awkwardly on his jeans. He looks to Cyrus, who is desperately trying to cover the red marks on his neck. 

“You should… probably go,” Cyrus says to his make-out buddy. Leo nods, scratching the back of his neck as he reaches towards the table to grab his phone and split. As the apartment door closes, the two boys left stand tensely at opposite sides of the room. The brunette attempts to break the silence first. “Theo, do you wanna watch—”

“I’m just gonna go to bed,” he interrupts, trying desperately to hold the frustration, the jealousy, the heartbreak back from his voice. He barely hides it, his speech shaking as he clenches his fist at his side. 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥’𝘷𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯.

“Oh. Okay,” Cyrus says, biting his cheek. He looks down, clearly disappointed. “Goodnight,” he whispers, deciding that testing TJ in whatever he’s feeling could be even more catastrophic than whatever the fuck just occurred. 

“Goodnight,” The basketball player says stiffly back. “I won’t interrupt your hookup next time.” Cyrus opens and his mouth frantically, unsure of what to say.

“Theo, it was just—” The taller man raises his hand slightly, causing his roommate to stop mid-sentence.

“Dude, it’s fine. I don’t care. I’m just tired,” he dismisses his 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥, turning away before the brunette can say anything else. TJ walks to his room, holding back the urge to slam the door and punch everything he sees. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥?

The jock pulls out his phone, letting out a joyless laugh as he reads the text on his screen. 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘉𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘺’𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳?

Of 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 Cyrus warned him. Of 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 he was too stupid, too 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭, to pay any attention to it. He always has to be the reckless one, always has to be the impulsive one. He always has to be the one who ruins everything.

TJ punches his pillow, clutching it to his chest as he holds back sobs. Finally, the water trapped within his eyes makes its way out, streaming silently down his face as he bites down hard on his lip. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺. 𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺.

At one point, with tears dripping onto his mattress, he falls into a restless sleep. 

&&&&&

TJ’s eyes flutter open in the morning, and he immediately shuts them. A wince makes its way onto his face as bright sunlight invades his pupils and flares with his headache. Squeezing the bridge of his nose, he remembers the events of the night before. He can’t go through that again, he can’t see Cyrus with someone else again. 

So, he does what any impulsive college student with a migraine and zero planning skills would do: he grabs some clothes, his charger & headphones, his toothbrush, and his hair products, he stuffs them into a large backpack, he grabs his sunglasses and Buffy’s room key, and he walks out of his room.

The blonde goes into the junk drawer of the apartment’s kitchen area, grabbing a notepad and scrawling a note on it. He sticks it on the table next to one of Cyrus’ favorite muffins, and with a deep breath, leaves the home.

TJ walks to the one place he knows he’s welcome, neglecting the opportunity to grab breakfast along the way. He uses the elevator this time, closing his eyes tightly as his memories of the event of last night flood in with each floor. Every frame hurts him, every detail stuck in his brain like a painting. Finally, he reaches the level of his destination, racing to it and unlocking the door. 

Buffy and Marty sit on their couch in sweats, watching some re-run of Brooklyn 99. The basketball captain turns at the sound of TJ’s entrance, her eyebrows furrowing in worry as she pauses the show. The brunette stands up, immediately running over to her friend and resting her hands on his forearms. The older speaks, his voice quivering slightly.

“Can I… can I stay here for a while?” Buffy’s heart breaks for him.

“Always, dude. We always have extra room for you.” Marty hums in agreement, giving his cousin a reassuring smile. Buffy studies the blonde’s face. She grabs his hand gently, leading him over to the couch. She sits him in the middle, Marty immediately placing a hand on his shoulder blade. He talks softly. “Can we ask what happened?” TJ nods.

“Last night, I was studying with Buffy, and I told her that I’m in love with Cyrus. She told me to go get him, and so I headed back to my apartment. I was gonna confess.” The green-eyed boy looks down, playing with his fingers nervously as he thinks over the occurrences of the night before. 

“Take your time, Thel,” Buffy says softly. He nods.

“When I walked into the apartment, Cyrus was making out with some guy, and when they got their shirts back on, he introduced us and told the guy to leave. His name was Leo, I think.” A single tear falls from the dirty-blonde’s eyelashes as he speaks. The couple looks at each other Marty rubs TJ’s back, Buffy running her thumb across his knuckles. 

“Oh, Thel,” she whispers, shocked by the turn of events, and confused by the fact that Cyrus of all people was participating in a random hookup. With a sigh, she decides that she’ll look into that later. Right now, TJ needs comfort.

“I’m sorry, bro,” Marty cooes, rubbing his relative’s shoulder gently. 

“It’s okay,” the young guy claims, his voice fragile. “I guess it just sucks that I thought I had a chance. It was my fault for believing that. Guys, I’m sorry. I know I’m wasting your alone time.”

“No, no, no,” his cousin and his soon-ish-to-be-cousin-in-law reassure him. Buffy speaks for both of them, Marty nodding along. “You could never waste our time. We care about you.” 

“Yeah,” the runner adds. “We want you to be happy, Teej. If that means staying with us and watching Brooklyn 99 until our eyes pop out of the sockets, that’s goddamn valid.”

TJ grins at Marty, amused for the first time today. “Is stealing ice cream from your freezer valid?”

“Dude, you know we literally have double chocolate ice cream 𝘢𝘯𝘥 lemon ice in there for you.” The basketball player laughs, heading over to the kitchen area immediately. And, as he sits down next to some of his favorite people and talks about how Andi and Amber are doing in their travels, as he watches Muffy throw popcorn at each other, he thinks that maybe, he & Cyrus can work this out. 

TJ’s phone pings, and he checks it. He winces at the name on the screen. Yeah, he needs time. 

&&&&&

It’s 6pm the next day before TJ realizes that he forgot his laptop. He’s sitting on the bed of Marty and Buffy’s guestroom, his hands searching through his backpack for the device. With the revelation, he drops his head down on the mattress. “Fuck!” he groans, prompting his cousin to come to his bedroom door.

“Frustrated, I assume?”

“Oh, fuck off.” Marty laughs at the outburst before becoming serious, walking over to the bed. 

“What’s wrong, Teej?” he inquires, ready to listen. The blonde looks at him before groaning.

“I have to go back to my apartment to grab my laptop,” he says, eyes seeming to flare with anxiety. Marty pats him on the shoulder.

“That sucks, man. Want me to come with?” 

The basketball player thinks for a moment before shaking his head. “Thank you, Mr. From the Party, but if I talk to Cyrus, I have to do it on my own.” 

Marty laughs, nodding to tell TJ that he understands. “You go get that laptop, bro.”

The athlete takes a deep breath, and then he heads to his apartment. He’s not sure if he wants Cyrus to be there or not. He’s not sure if he can handle it or not.

&&&&&

He just wants his laptop. That’s it. That’s all TJ wants, but instead, he gets yet another faceful of Cyrus having a verifiable tongue-boxing match with some fucking random guy. And yes, he jokes about it in his head, but Jesus, does it fucking 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵. 

“Goddammit!” he mutters to himself, knocking on a wall to alert his roommate that 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵-𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨-𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. He can hear the brunette’s whispered 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵 as it falls into Random Guy’s mouth, and, as much as he would like to, he can’t shut his eyes. He’s in shock. Again. 

Cyrus pushes Random Guy off of him, who goes immediately for his t-shirt, just like the last one. Luckily, this time, Cyrus is still entirely clothed, so TJ doesn’t have to witness any more guys pressing their hands to his chest. TJ’s entire body aches when Cyrus tells Random guy to 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤, 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮.

“I’m just gonna grab my laptop and leave,” the athlete says, running for his bedroom and picking up his belongings. The smaller man just marches up to him and grabs his wrist, dragging him into his bedroom. Cyrus closes the door are turns to his roommate, an upset expression in his eyes.

“What the fuck, Cyrus?” the older guy hisses, yanking his arm away.

“‘Staying at Buffy’s for a few days, don’t text please’? Fucking really?” 

“Yeah, really! I see you with some douchebag, and I leave, and I come back to you making out with 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 asshole? Really?” 

“How was I supposed to know you were coming back? How was I supposed to tell you if I’m not supposed to text you?” TJ’s eyes are alight with anger.

“You’re blaming me? You’re fucking blaming me for the fact that you keep bringing random assholes into our apartment? You’re blaming me for not wanting to come home to you with some guys tongue down your throat? Cool. Got it.”

“Are you fucking jealous?” TJ’s face heats up, but he pushes his emotions back. His throat is raw as he responds, tears pooling behind his eyes.

“Yes, I’m 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘫𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴, okay?! Is that what you wanted to fucking hear? Did you want me to yell about how I wanna spend the rest of my fucking life with you? How fucking in love with you I am? Are you fucking happy?” Cyrus’ eyes widen, and TJ turns, grabbing his laptop. He goes to walk out of the room when the brunette reaches for his hand.

“Theo, I—” TJ pulls away again, trying to ignore how much the name affects him. 

“Don’t call me that.” His voice is icy as Cyrus’ eyes widen.

“What?” he whispers softly.

“Don’t call me Theo.”

With that, TJ opens the door, and runs out of the apartment. He doesn’t stop running until he reaches Buffy’s apartment, until he opens the door, until he crumbles onto his bed and punches his mattress, and he truly breaks down. He’s alone in the apartment, Buffy and Marty having a date night. Except, he feels more than just physically alone.

&&&&&

“You’re in love with him.” Cyrus snaps his head up in shock as Reed speaks to him. 

“What did you say?”

“You know what I said.”

“Why would I be in love with TJ?” Reed stares at him, a look of disbelief on his face at the brunette’s denial. 

“I saw the way you looked at him, dude. I saw the way you grabbed for his hand, as if all you wanted was for him to stay, as if all you wanted was 𝘩𝘪𝘮. And, God, did you see the way he looked at you? That guy was heartbroken. And, I can tell that you are, too.”

“He’s my best friend. Of course I hate it when he’s mad at me.” Reed shakes his head.

“No, dude. I need you to be honest with me.” Cyrus decides that, since this guy is at his apartment, and he seems to wanna help, he may as well work with him. 

“Fine, Reed. Fine.”

“Good. Now, seriously, answer my questions.”

“You haven’t asked them yet.” Reed rolls his eyes, a small smirk on his face at the dorky brunette. 

“Dude.”

“Okay, fine. I will.”

“First question. Do you love… 'what’s-his-name'?” 𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦?

“I’m not sure. And, TJ.” The blonde rubs his hands together, trying to help Cyrus figure out his emotions. He’s not sure why he wants to help, but he does.

“Say the first answer that comes to mind when I ask you these questions, okay?” He watches as the shorter boy nods his head. “When you picture the rest of your life, who are you next to?” Cyrus takes a deep breath, a breathless laugh rippling from his throat as he realizes; there's only one answer. 𝘛𝘑. 𝘈𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘛𝘑.

“TJ,” he answers, feeling his shoulders relax slightly. Reed smiles, clearly glad to have gotten somewhere. 

“Good. Okay. Now, what does that tell you?” Cyrus inhales sharply, because 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵.

“I’m in love with him,” he says, standing up. “I’m in love with TJ Kippen.”

“I know,” Reed teases, opening his arms for the smaller man, who accepts the hug.

“Thank you, Reed.”

With a laugh, the taller man opens his mouth. “What kind of hookup would I be if I didn’t help you get your shitty love life together?”

Cyrus chuckles, his eyebrows furrowing. “A normal one?”

“We don’t like normal, do we?” Cyrus pulls away, resting his arm across the man's shoulders for a moment. 

“We really don’t.” Reed blushes, walking down to the doors of the building with his new friend. Like a non-normal hookup, he gives Cyrus a ride to the apartment where TJ is staying. Reed teases Cyrus about his obliviousness for the majority of the ride. When he pulls up to the building, he grabs the brunette’s phone, giving the man his own. It’s opened to contacts. 

“Invite me to the wedding, yeah?” The shorter boy giggles before adding his number. 

“I mean, you can’t spell ‘g𝐫𝐞at w𝐞𝐝ding’ without 𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝, right?”

“That’s very true.” They stand in silence for a moment, Cyrus fiddling with his sweatshirt nervously. He speaks, obviously stalling. Reed rolls his eyes fondly.

“So, should I—”

“Yeah, you should,” the blonde interrupts, giving Cyrus a reassuring smile. “Go get your man.” The brunette takes a deep breath, nodding when he works up the courage. He stops, turning to the other man.

“Thank you—”

“For the love of God, Cyrus, go get him!”

And, yeah, he’s glad he met Reed.

&&&&&

TJ wakes up to someone knocking at Buffy’s apartment door. For a second, he considers ignoring it, considers letting whoever’s at the door go to voicemail. Yes, that was a joke. Sort of. He’s tired. He closes his eyes, ready for another deep sleep, ready to go back to dreamland—

𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.

With a groan, he gets out of bed, shuffling across the room. He leaves the light on so he can come back and mope when the intruder leaves, and he grabs a hoodie from his collection. He wanders across the apartment, running a hand through his hair when he reaches the door. The blonde tugs it open, and then—

“Cyrus?”

The brown-eyed man doesn’t answer, just grabs the collar of his best friend’s shirt and lets their lips crash together. TJ stills in shock, but gets the memo when the brunette runs his fingers gently along his spine. He throws his arms around Cyrus’ neck, pushing the door shut as his lips move desperately along with the other man’s. And, for a moment, it’s wonderful, perfect, eternal. But, then, TJ pulls away. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦. 

“Cyrus, what—”

“I’m tired of the middle.” The athlete tilts his head. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨?

“But, the middle is your home, I—”

“You’re my home. You’ve always been my home,” Cyrus says, standing on his tiptoes so he can press his forehead against the basketball player’s. 

“But, those guys—”

“—were just me pretending I wasn’t in love with you.” Oh. TJ can’t help himself as his feelings spill from his lips.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too, TJ. Now, please fucking kiss me.” And, TJ kisses him; for just a moment, before he realizes the issue with the situation. He pulls his lips away, chuckling at the whine the brunette lets out.

“Stop calling me TJ,” he whispers, reveling in the smile that plasters itself onto the younger man’s lips.

“Okay,” he says, the gap in between them closing. The blonde ghosts his lips over Cyrus’, breathing softly. He can see the impatient smile etching its way onto the man’s face, he can feel himself becoming impatient as well. He leans in, and then… stops. 

“Theo,” he whines. TJ can’t really help but laugh at the annoyed hum that pries itself from the lips of his love. “Yes, dear?” he teases. Because he gets to do that now. Because he gets to say that now. 

“If you don’t kiss me in the next five seconds, I swear to God—”

And, he does. And, maybe when TJ gives in, when his lips fall onto Cyrus’, he falls in love again. Maybe when Cyrus kisses TJ into his room, when they stumble and land on the bed, and they laugh against each other’s lips, he realizes that this, the feeling of Cyrus smiling into his kiss, is worth everything it took to get there. 

Maybe, as they cuddle up into one another, as they simply drop sweet kisses onto each other’s lips, as they laugh along with another episode of New Girl, TJ decides that the brunette is his whole damn life.

And, the best part is, Cyrus is gonna be there for all of it.

**Author's Note:**

> KUDOS AND COMMENTS OR I'LL DELETE YOUR KNEECAPS THANK YOU FOR READING


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